Technology

NEWS: AMD targets entry-level 3D CAD users with new GPUs

AMD has added two entry-level models to its Radeon Pro WX Series of professional GPUs. The Radeon Pro WX 2100 and WX 3100 are designed for entry-level 3D CAD and are certified for a number of applications including SolidWorks, Creo and Revit. They join AMD’s other ‘Polaris’-based professional GPUs – the Radeon Pro WX 4100, WX 5100 and WX 7100 - which were launched in 2016.

In terms of performance, AMD reckons the Radeon Pro WX 2100 and WX 3100 boasts up to 95 percent and 2.3x improvements over its previous generation (FirePro W2100 and FirePro W4100). AMD has also released benchmark figures that compare the new GPUs to the Nvidia Quadro P400 and Quadro P600.

In PTC Creo 3.0 (when running the SPECapc PTC Creo 3.0 benchmark - graphics composite) AMD reckons the Radeon Pro WX 2100 is up to 9% faster than the Nvidia Quadro P400 and the Radeon Pro WX 3100 is up to 17% faster than the Nvidia Quadro P600.

In SolidWorks 2015 (when running the SPECapc Dassault SolidWorks 2015 FSAA benchmark -graphics composite) AMD states that the Radeon Pro WX 2100 is up to 60% faster than the Nvidia Quadro P400 and the Radeon Pro WX 3100 is up to 47% faster than the Nvidia Quadro P600.

Both of the new GPUs are low-profile graphics cards, which means they can fit inside Small Form Factor (SFF) workstations such as the HP Z240 SFF and Dell Precision 3420. The Radeon Pro WX 2100 and WX 3100 feature 2GB and 4GB of GDDR5 memory respectively and are rated at 35W and 50W. Both GPUs have 1 x DisplayPort and 2 x mini DisplayPort outputs.

AMD also stresses its increased investment in software drivers for Radeon Pro. It backs this up by stating that the Radeon Pro 16 Q4 Enterprise driver underwent 3x more ISV certification testing and 1.5x more stress testing than the FirePro 14.502.1019 driver.

The Radeon Pro WX 2100 and WX 3100 are available for $149 and $199 respectively.